They are not native to cold winter areas, so don't sow in fall. Plant your seeds early in spring once the ground is unfrozen and danger of frost is past.

I don't like storing seeds in glass or plastic because of condensation issues. I just keep them in paper bags.

I grew up in Southern California and I grow California poppies to remind me of home. I think they are so beautiful.

California poppies are not true poppies, but the seeds are edible.

Food: The california poppy seed is also used in some dishes such as: noodles, fish, cakes, studels, fruit and vegetables salads as a dressing in some international cuisines: Indian, Moghlai, German, Jewish and Slavic. Its seeds are also used for cooking because it has edible oil. These are more than enough reasons to keep California poppy seeds in your kitchen. http://www.ethnosupply.com/articles/cal ... _seed.html

Since I'm usually buying the seed in little packets, I've never tried it.

Collect the seed heads in a clean food grade bucket. Then crush them. I used a half brick. It was close and handy. Then just run everything through a sifter. Back and forth inside the bucket.Then pour them into a jar and show them off.

These are clean enough for storing and sowing. I would clean them more for baking.

The bottom, purple ones are true poppies, Papavers. If that's what you are growing Green Mantis, they aren't California poppies. The top, orange ones are California poppies Eschultzii californicus, which are not true poppies.

The seeds of both are edible. True poppy seeds are where opium comes from (note the scientific name Papaver Somniferum, where somniferum translates roughly as sleep-inducing). Rumor has it that if you eat too much poppy seed you can fail a drug test, though that may be an urban legend, I don't know. I do know that opium is highly processed and concentrated, so I'm thinking the amount of opium in a poppyseed muffin or whatever would be less than microscopic.

rainbowgardener wrote: True poppy seeds are where opium comes from (note the scientific name Papaver Somniferum, where somniferum translates roughly as sleep-inducing). Rumor has it that if you eat too much poppy seed you can fail a drug test, though that may be an urban legend, I don't know. I do know that opium is highly processed and concentrated, so I'm thinking the amount of opium in a poppyseed muffin or whatever would be less than microscopic.

Not an urban legend; see snopes here. The trace amounts of opium in the innocent poppy-seed bagels or rolls can be detected up to 48 hours after ingestion.

And, although the California poppies would never miss the seeds--profligate self-seeders that they are--I just can't make myself look at them as edible.